Tyson Barrie is garnering attention from opposing clubs.
Several teams reached out to the Toronto Maple Leafs about the defenseman following a flurry of trades involving blue-liners around the NHL and amidst Toronto's ongoing struggles, TSN's Bob McKenzie reported on Thursday's edition of "Insider Trading."
"So suddenly the Toronto Maple Leafs started getting a lot of calls on pending (unrestricted free agent) defenseman Tyson Barrie," McKenzie said. "And when those teams called, the Leafs basically told those teams that were interested, 'Yeah, you know what? We would consider - under the right set of circumstances - trading Tyson Barrie.'"
However, McKenzie cautioned that Toronto is not interested in "a sell-off for future considerations." He added that one of two things has to happen for the Maple Leafs to trade Barrie: Either the team has to get a rearguard in exchange who "makes them a better team right now," or the return needs to be picks and prospects the club can immediately turn around and parlay into a right-shot defenseman who could play with Morgan Rielly.
The Vancouver Canucks are reportedly among the teams that have spoken to the Maple Leafs.
Entering Thursday's action, Barrie had collected 33 points through 61 games this season. However, he hasn't quite fit in on the Maple Leafs' blue line since Toronto acquired him from the Colorado Avalanche in a blockbuster deal involving Nazem Kadri last July.
The 28-year-old only carries a $2.75-million cap hit in the final season of the four-year, $22-million pact he inked with the Avalanche in 2016. Colorado retained 50% of his average annual value in the trade with Toronto.
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